


The Son Will Shine Again

by BuckyAndDanno



Category: 9-1-1 (TV), 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, Evan's TRUE family, Family Feels, Gen, Post-Lawsuit (9-1-1 TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27105406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuckyAndDanno/pseuds/BuckyAndDanno
Summary: "I need you to find my son." Owen's eyes are teary, staring at Carlos with nothing less than a prayer. He remembers the last time he saw Evan, his seven year old baby - hand in hand with his mother - after the custody battle. He remembers hearing that they went back to Hershey. The heartbreak never left him to this day. Now, his mortality staring back at him every waking morning, he needs to see his son again.Little does he know, in L.A., the son is left wanting nothing more than his father and brother.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Owen Strand, Evan "Buck" Buckley & TK Strand
Comments: 38
Kudos: 465





	1. The Father

**Author's Note:**

> So we just started getting Lone Star in the UK and I've been binge watching it. Every time Owen mentions his ex wives, I just think of Evan being a Strand. Then I saw the photo album scene and... Well, enjoy!

A cough racks through him and maybe it shakes something in his brain but he finds himself remembering long forgotten memories. A shudder makes him tremble, hands gripping the kitchen counter.

_"Can you say Dada?"_   
_A tottering step, falling, then pushing back up, pale locks obscuring bright blue eyes. "Dada!" A squeal and a grin._   
_The tiny body in his arms, one of his two joys. "Well done Evan!"_

_"Daddy loves you."_

_"When I'm bigger, I'm gonna be a firefighter like daddy!" TK grins widely at his little brother as they play Firehouse in the wooden play house Owen built for them in the yard. It's painted red with a hanging sign that reads Firehouse 252._   
_"Me too!" Evan yells excitedly. "Me too!"_   
_"You're gonna be the best firefighters anyone's ever seen." Owen tells them with a prideful grin. "Maybe you'll even get to work together"_   
_"That would be so cool!" TK grins, the seven year old bouncing up and down. Evan, three, and in the phase of mimicking his brother, does the same._   
_"So cool!"_   
_Owen doesn't know how he got so lucky._

Suddenly he's in his bedroom, pulling out a small box from the back of his closet. Inside lies three items.   
A baby blanket.  
A handmade mug reading 'best daddy'   
And a photo album.  
He flicks through the album, lingering on a photo of himself and Evan. The then five year is sat on his lap, wearing Owen's old turnout coat and helmet, a broad grin on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.  
Tears splatter the page as Owen sobs freely, heart aching in his chest.  
He knows his fears are more than simply what he told Michelle. He's afraid of losing himself yes, but he's more afraid of losing TK, losing him like he lost Evan.  
And he knows the only way he's going to overcome that fear is through one thing.  
He needs to find his son.

The police station is quiet that evening, though whether its a thin shift or whether the other officers are out, Owen doesn't know.  
Either way he sees straight away the person he needs.  
Carlos Reyes.  
"Owen" The officer spots him, a confused smile turning his lips. "What can I do for you?"  
The fire captain swallows thickly.  
"I need you to find my son." Owen's eyes are teary, staring at Carlos with nothing less than a prayer.   
He remembers the last time he saw Evan, his seven year old baby - hand in hand with his mother - after the custody battle. He remembers hearing that they went back to Hershey. The heartbreak never left him to this day.   
Now, his mortality staring back at him every waking morning, he needs to see his son again.   
He has to.  
"TK?" There's a slight panic in Carlos' eyes but it gives way to more confusion when Owen shakes his head.  
"Evan." He chokes. " Evan Buckley."


	2. Chapter 2

Carlos stares at Owen for a long moment before he nods. The pain in the other man’s eyes is too much to deny, even if Carlos doesn’t know what he can do to help. “I’ll ask around.”

“Thank you.” The elder man whispers, like a dying man offered water, and Carlos feels a pang in his heart for him.

He hopes he can do something to ease the other’s anguish.

As it turns out, Owen’s saving grace was not that far away.

It’s the next day, and the 126 are between calls. While Owen cooks them all a hearty meal, and most of the boys are in the gym, Marjan and T.K. are laying on the couches, both on their phones.

T.K. is no doubt texting Carlos, but the sounds coming from Marjan’s phone are somewhat disconcerting; too familiar to many of their calls.

“Marjan?” Owen calls over. “What is that?”

Marjan grins up at him. “You guys think I’m crazy, you should see this guy.”

She turns the phone towards he and T.K. and they watch as a firefighter scales a ferris wheel to save someone. Then the same guy is seen saving multiple people during a Tsunami, using everyday objects to perform risky rescues.

“He was even a civilian during the Tsunami.” Marjan adds as the video cuts to an interview with the man.

The face that greets them is somewhat familiar, and the birthmark above his eye sparks a pain in Owen’s chest as he’s reminded of his baby boy.

_“My pop was a firefighter so… I always hope I’m doing him proud.”_

Then a banner pops up at the bottom of the video that reads:

_Evan Buckley. Firefighter and civilian hero._

“I mean, this guy is intense.” Marjan finishes, grinning, and doesn’t notice the shocked looks on T.K. and Owen’s faces, or the way their eyes meet each other in silent conversation.

Moments later, Owen Strand makes a call to the LAFD.

Evan Buckley feels lost.

In amidst this damn lawsuit he’s started, he’s managed to lose every person he once called family, something that has always been near and dear to him.

He’d been happy, once, when he lived in NYC with his father and brother. But then his mother had divorced her second husband, regardless of he and Maddie’s feelings or needs, and had gone back to Hershey for their biological father; a cruel man whose best friend was a bottle.

Evan had missed them every single day, and there were so many times when he’d thought about finding them, only to wonder if they’d ever missed him the same.

The 118 had filled the hole in his heart, but now…

Now he was alone again.

So when the Chief of the LAFD calls with a new offer, saying that Station 126 down in Austin wants to meet with him, Evan finds himself agreeing to an interview.

Yes, part of him recoils at the idea of leaving L.A. and yet… part of him wonders if a fresh start is exactly what he needs.

Yet as he boards the plane to Austin only a few days later, he has no idea what awaits him on the other end, or how it will change his life for the better.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love guys! The reunion is close!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own 9-1-1 or 9-1-1 Lone Star!

Evan stares up at Station 126 with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

It’s clear that the station is new, even if no-one was aware of the tragedy that had befallen the previous team, and its gleaming metal shutter, shining engines and modern design all lure Buck in before he’s even stepped foot through the doors.

He knows he hasn’t been offered anything yet, is still wrestling with the idea of starting all over again, and yet as the warm Texan air settles deep in his lungs, he finds himself believing that he could be happy here, if he tried.

Maybe if he just calmed down, was less himself, less reckless and brash, maybe… just maybe… these people could be a new family for him.

Just maybe, he could get the happy ending he’d never thought he deserved but always wanted.

Courage and want push him through the door, and then he’s staring up at a large balcony area, framed by two offices, and a couple of people there stood cooking breakfast and chatting.

One, a woman with a beautiful hijab, spots him immediately, gleaming eyes and bright smile locking straight onto him with a cry of, “He’s here!”

And though he doesn’t know the woman at all, even if she looks somewhat familiar, her joyous greeting, the fact that he’s apparently wanted before he’s even said a word, does something indescribable to his heart.

Suddenly she’s beside him, shaking his hand thoroughly, beaming smile still plastered on her face. “It’s so nice to meet you!”

“Um, thanks.” He tries for his own smile, somewhat blindsided by her enthusiasm.

“Sorry.” She laughs, leading him upstairs. “I’ve just seen videos of your rescues and… damn, you’re incredible.”

The pride fills him up like a thirsty man in the desert, and his smile widens. “You have no idea what that means to me.”

“I have an idea.” She shrugs, and maybe they know about the lawsuit, maybe **they** understand, but then he’s placing her face and his own eyes widen.

“Oh, damn, you’re Marjan!”

She grins. “The one and only.”

“I’ve seen your own rescues. Damn impressive.”

She just bumps shoulders with him and winks. “Well if you start here, maybe I’ll finally have some competition.”

Just like that he’s deposited at the door to the captain’s office, and just like that he **can** imagine himself making a home here.

He **can** imagine being happy.

It bolsters him so completely that he knocks on the captain’s door and enters without thinking once he hears an affirmation, letting his gaze rest on the two people behind the desk.

At once, he stops dead.

“Dad.”

The firehouse doesn’t feel the same.

Eddie stands cleaning the truck absentmindedly, but it’s clear his thoughts are on something else.

Someone else.

Evan Buckley.

As much as Eddie knew the anger he was harbouring was from a place much deeper than the lawsuit, as much as he understood why Buck had done it, he couldn’t put it aside.

He couldn’t let it go.

Because it felt too much like losing Buck like he lost Shannon.

It felt too much like Buck leaving him, even if it was pretty clear the other man was doing everything in a fight to get back.

Beyond that though, deep down, he misses Buck, and he can’t believe the past six months have happened how they have.

He can’t believe how easily the team, the family, has been torn apart.

He can’t believe how much it hurts.

He just hopes that at the end of it all, when all is said and done, that they can be how they were before.

Or, if he really hopes, that they can be something more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own 9-1-1 or 9-1-1 Lone Star!

Buck feels frozen in time, eyes wide, blinking rapidly at the scene in front of him.

Owen Strand, his mother’s ex-husband, the only true father Evan had ever known, sits behind the Captain’s desk in an AFD shirt with ‘Captain’ and ‘Strand’ pinned to it. Beside him sits T.K., the brother Buck had missed ever day of his life since they’d left New York, also in an AFD shirt reading ‘T.K. Strand’.

He can feel his heart pounding rapidly in his chest, blood rushing in his ears.

Then Owen smiles, a soft “Evan” escaping his lips, and Buck can’t stop his knees from buckling; can’t stop himself from sinking to the floor or the sob that escapes his lips.

Everything he’d thought for the past couple of hours seems to disappear in an instant, slipping through his fingers like smoke. At once, he’s torn, bombarded with the intense emotions at being with his family again, yet feeling tricked and hollowed out; the pride at being wanted by a new team giving way to feeling like he was only here because of **Owen**.

Two sets of arms wrap around him, and he both wants to lean into the embraces and also pull himself away.

“D-Don’t…” He manages to push out between clenched teeth, head throbbing under the intensity of his sobs.

In a moment, he’s released, but Owen and T.K. stay seated beside him on the floor, and the intensity of the concern in Owen’s eyes sends Buck reeling.

“What are you feelin’ right now, bud?”

Another sob escapes him at the soft words, at the love that radiates in every syllable. It’s been so long since he felt anything similar that he just wants to latch onto it and never let go.

“I don’t…” He swallows, trying to calm his breathing. “I don’t know…”

“Take your time.” T.K. coaxes, smiling at him gently.

Evan had only been seven when they’d left New York and moved back to Hershey and yet he and Maddie had kept in touch with every piece of news about the New York Firestation Owen worked at; had kept up to a point where T.K. had joined his father. Buck had always known where they were; he just hadn’t been sure they still wanted him; had grown up to be someone who didn’t rely on permanent connections that were never permanent.

He’d allowed himself to believe he was okay for so long.

Then they’d disappeared – he hadn’t known where too – and he’d convinced himself it was fine. That he was okay in LA.

And he had been, for a time.

But with everything that had happened, he’d wanted nothing more than the remembered safety of Owen’s arms; of being T.K.’s little brother. He’d wanted nothing more than his family.

Then he’d been offered to come to the 126, had let that joy and pride radiate through him – the feeling of being wanted – only to find both wants clashing together.

It left him happy yet sad at the same time.

“Did you only ask me here because… because…” He swallows, unable to finish the words. As much as he’d called the man ‘Dad’ in his shock, that didn’t mean the man actually wanted to be his father. He’d learnt enough the past few months to not project his own feelings onto others; it never ended well for him.

Owen just smiles, pulling him back into a lighter hug, and speaks as if he can hear all of Buck’s internal monologue. “The 126 asked you here because you’re a damn good firefighter who deserves to do what he’s good at, and we’re a member short. **I** asked you here, because I damn well miss my son.”

The words are exactly what he needed to hear, and it breaks through every wall he’s built around himself, leaving him sobbing again, clutching Owen like the man might disappear. “I love you, Dad.”

Owen beams over Buck’s shoulder at T.K., pulling his other son into the embrace. “I love you too, kiddo. I love you both so much.”

They go through a mandatory interview of sorts, once they’ve all tampered their emotions, but it’s nothing Buck hasn’t done before. As soon as they’re done, Owen is asking him formally to join the 126, and Buck doesn’t even need to think about it before accepting.

He’d had enough time to think about a fresh start on the plane over, but already being able to tell that the 126 truly respected each other, were colleagues **and** family, but separated those two elements when needed, he knew this was the right place for him.

Having his brother and father here, having them **back** , was more than enough incentive to tip the balance further.

He didn’t belong in LA anymore, but he damn well belonged in Austin.

His Dad and T.K. introduce him properly to the rest of the 126 then, before their shift ends and the three of them head to a local café to catch up. Soon enough though, the evening comes and Buck has to catch his flight back to LA. Yet with his transfer papers in his bag, with a new home waiting for him, he doesn’t feel anything but excitement.

He gets back to his loft and immediately packs what he needs to move to Austin, setting aside the rest for charity. He calls a removal firm to come pick up the heavy things in the morning, to take to a charity that uses or sells furniture to help those less fortunate, and sets aside the remaining bags to take in his jeep.

As the sun rises over LA the next morning, Buck all but bounds out of bed, setting his coffee machine going for one last pot and rustling up a breakfast with what he has. The removal firm comes for the furniture, and then Buck loads up his Jeep with the rest and drives it over to the charity. After that, it’s over to Mackey’s office to drop the lawsuit.

With all of that taken care of, papers in hand, Buck drives to the 118 for the last time.

He feels the eyes of every member of the 118 on him as soon as he steps inside, and yet he pays them no need, heading straight up to Bobby’s office.

“Buck.” The man seems surprised to see him, and Buck almost laughs. Instead he just puts the papers on the desk with a small smile.

“I just wanted to inform you, Captain Nash, that I’ve dropped the lawsuit, and am transferring out of state.”

He watches Bobby flinch, and wonders briefly whether it’s the formality or the fact that he’s leaving. He finds that he doesn’t much care.

Bobby blinks up at him for a second, then says, “You don’t have to do this.”

Buck just shrugs. “I think we both know I do.”

“Your family is here.” Bobby’s voice is quiet, and again Buck doesn’t know who he’s referring to; Maddie, or all of them?

Either way, he couldn’t be more wrong. Not after all this time.

So Buck just shakes his head. “Not anymore.”

Then he turns and leaves; Station 118, LA, all of it.

He refuses to look back.


End file.
